Texans ain’t braggin’ any more

An Op-Ed in the Washington Post swings a big axe at the Lone Star State. The Web verison of the commentary by Bryan Burrough is under the headline “Death and Texas.” Burrough says Rep. Ron Paul is the most visible Texan in Washington these days now that George W. Bush is out of the White House and back in Dallas.

He takes a look at Texas’ influence from the beginning of “Big Rich” oilmen through the LBJ era and all the way to Tom DeLay and the Bush presidencies. “It’s been a long time since Texas was irrelevant,” Burrough writes. All the way to irrelevant? Ouch.

The worst part is the piece declares Kinky Friedman as the closest thing to a public intellectual that the Lone Star State can come up with these days. That’s down right mean. On the bright side, Burrough predicts Texas will be back in power. However, he doesn’t sound too happy about it.

Maybe if Texans can get somebody other than a W. or a Tom DeLay-type to take the lead next time, the state’s reputation will be better. But maybe not.